Electronic Device Comprising Antenna

This application is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/021956, filed on Dec. 28, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Receiving Office, and claiming priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0022494 filed Feb. 20, 2023, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0040808, filed on Mar. 28, 2023, the disclosures of which are all hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Certain example embodiments may relate to an electronic device comprising an antenna.

An electronic device may transmit a signal through an antenna or receive a signal through the antenna. The electronic device may include a conductive portion positioned at a portion of an edge of a metal housing. The conductive portion may operate as an antenna radiator to transmit and/or receive a signal.

The above-described information may be provided as a related art for the purpose of helping understanding of the present disclosure. No argument or decision is made as to whether any of the above description may be applied as a prior art related to the present disclosure.

In certain example embodiments, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device may comprise a processor comprising processing circuitry, wireless communication circuitry configured to provide a signal of a designated frequency band, a switching circuit, a first housing including a first conductive portion, and a second housing including a second conductive portion and configured to be rotatable relative to the first housing. The at least one processor may be individually and/or collectively configured to, in an unfolding state in which a distance between the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion is longer than or equal to a certain distance, control the switching circuit to transmit the signal through the second conductive portion. The at least one processor may be configured to individually and/or collectively, in a folding state in which the distance between the first conductive portion and the second conductive portion is shorter than the certain distance, control the switching circuit to transmit the signal through each of the second conductive portion and a third conductive portion. The second conductive portion may be disposed to face at least a part of the first conductive portion in the folding state. The third conductive portion may be disposed at a position that is spaced apart from the second conductive portion by a predefined distance or more in the folding state.

In embodiments, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device may comprise wireless communication circuitry configured to provide a signal of a designated frequency band. The electronic device may comprise a first housing including a first conductive portion. The electronic device may comprise a second housing including a second conductive portion and configured to be rotatable relative to the first housing. The wireless communication circuitry may be configured to transmit the signal of the designated frequency band through only the second conductive portion in an unfolding state. The wireless communication circuitry may be configured to, in a folding state, transmit the signal of the designated frequency band through each of the second conductive portion and the third conductive portion. In the folding state, a first display area of the first housing and a second display area of the second housing may face each other. In the unfolding state, the first display area and the second display area may face the same direction. The third conductive portion may be different from a conductive portion adjacent to a first non-conductive portion for the first conductive portion and a conductive portion adjacent to a non-conductive portion for the second conductive portion.

Terms used in the present disclosure are used only to describe a specific embodiment, and may not be intended to limit a range of another embodiment. A singular expression may include a plural expression unless the context clearly means otherwise. Terms used herein, including a technical or a scientific term, may have the same meaning as those generally understood by a person with ordinary skill in the art described in the present disclosure. Among the terms used in the present disclosure, terms defined in a general dictionary may be interpreted as identical or similar meaning to the contextual meaning of the relevant technology and are not interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present disclosure. In some cases, even terms defined in the present disclosure may not be interpreted to exclude embodiments of the present disclosure.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure described below, a hardware approach will be described as an example. However, since the various embodiments of the present disclosure include technology that uses both hardware and software, the various embodiments of the present disclosure do not exclude a software-based approach.

A term (e.g., a communication module, a wireless communication module) referring to a component of an electronic device, a term (a front end module (FEM), a power amplifier module (PAM), a FEM including duplexer (FEMid), a power amplifier module including duplexer (PAMid), a low noise amplifier PAM including duplexer (LPAMid), a radio frequency front end (RFFE), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) referring to an RF related module, a term (e.g., an antenna, a radiator, an antenna radiator, an antenna terminal, an antenna element) referring to an antenna, a term (e.g., a PCB, an FPCB, a signal line, a feeding line, an RF block, a data line, an electrical connection, wireless communication circuitry, communication circuitry) referring to circuitry, and the like used in the following description are exemplified for convenience of a description. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to terms to be described below, and another term having an equivalent technical meaning may be used. In addition, a term such as ‘ . . . unit,’ . . . device, ‘ . . . object’, and ‘ . . . structure’, and the like used below may mean at least one shape structure or may mean a unit processing a function.

In addition, in the present disclosure, the term ‘greater than’ or ‘less than’ may be used to determine whether a particular condition is satisfied or fulfilled, but this is only a description to express an example and does not exclude description of ‘greater than or equal to’ or ‘less than or equal to’. A condition described as ‘greater than or equal to’ may be replaced with ‘greater than’, a condition described as ‘less than or equal to’ may be replaced with ‘less than’, and a condition described as ‘greater than or equal to and less than’ may be replaced with ‘greater than and less than or equal to’. In addition, hereinafter, ‘A’ to ‘B’ refers to at least one of elements from A (including A) to B (including B). Hereinafter, ‘C’ and/or ‘D’ means including at least one of ‘C’ or ‘D’, that is, {‘C’, ‘D’, and ‘C’ and ‘D’}.

is a block diagram illustrating an electronic devicein a network environmentaccording to various embodiments.

Referring to, the electronic devicein the network environmentmay communicate with an electronic devicevia a first network(e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or at least one of an electronic deviceor a servervia a second network(e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay communicate with the electronic devicevia the server. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay include a processor, memory, an input module, a sound output module, a display module, an audio module, a sensor module, an interface, a connecting terminal, a haptic module, a camera module, a power management module, a battery, a communication module, a subscriber identification module (SIM), or an antenna module. In some embodiments, at least one of the components (e.g., the connecting terminal) may be omitted from the electronic device, or one or more other components may be added in the electronic device. In some embodiments, some of the components (e.g., the sensor module, the camera module, or the antenna module) may be implemented as a single component (e.g., the display module).

The processormay execute, for example, software (e.g., a program) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic devicecoupled with the processor, and may perform various data processing or computation. According to an embodiment, as at least part of the data processing or computation, the processormay store a command or data received from another component (e.g., the sensor moduleor the communication module) in volatile memory, process the command or the data stored in the volatile memory, and store resulting data in non-volatile memory. According to an embodiment, the processormay include a main processor(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)), or an auxiliary processor(e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) that is operable independently from, or in conjunction with, the main processor. For example, when the electronic deviceincludes the main processorand the auxiliary processor, the auxiliary processormay be adapted to consume less power than the main processor, or to be specific to a specified function. The auxiliary processormay be implemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor.

The auxiliary processormay control at least some of functions or states related to at least one component (e.g., the display module, the sensor module, or the communication module) among the components of the electronic device, instead of the main processorwhile the main processoris in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processorwhile the main processoris in an active state (e.g., executing an application).

According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor(e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as part of another component (e.g., the camera moduleor the communication module) functionally related to the auxiliary processor. According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor(e.g., the neural processing unit) may include a hardware structure specified for artificial intelligence model processing. An artificial intelligence model may be generated by machine learning. Such learning may be performed, e.g., by the electronic devicewhere the artificial intelligence is performed or via a separate server (e.g., the server). Learning algorithms may include, but are not limited to, e.g., supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning. The artificial intelligence model may include a plurality of artificial neural network layers. The artificial neural network may be a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), deep Q-network or a combination of two or more thereof but is not limited thereto. The artificial intelligence model may, additionally or alternatively, include a software structure other than the hardware structure.

The memorymay store various data used by at least one component (e.g., the processoror the sensor module) of the electronic device. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., the program) and input data or output data for a command related thereto. The memorymay include the volatile memoryor the non-volatile memory.

The programmay be stored in the memoryas software, and may include, for example, an operating system (OS), middleware, or an application.

The input modulemay receive a command or data to be used by another component (e.g., the processor) of the electronic device, from the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device. The input modulemay include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (e.g., a button), or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

The sound output modulemay output sound signals to the outside of the electronic device. The sound output modulemay include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record. The receiver may be used for receiving incoming calls. According to an embodiment, the receiver may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the speaker.

The display modulemay visually provide information to the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device. The display modulemay include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector and control circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display, hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the display modulemay include a touch sensor adapted to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor adapted to measure the intensity of force incurred by the touch.

The audio modulemay convert a sound into an electrical signal and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio modulemay obtain the sound via the input module, or output the sound via the sound output moduleor a headphone of an external electronic device (e.g., an electronic device) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly coupled with the electronic device.

The sensor modulemay detect an operational state (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic deviceor an environmental state (e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device, and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor modulemay include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

The interfacemay support one or more specified protocols to be used for the electronic deviceto be coupled with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device) directly (e.g., wiredly) or wirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interfacemay include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface.

A connecting terminalmay include a connector via which the electronic devicemay be physically connected with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device). According to an embodiment, the connecting terminalmay include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, a SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

The haptic modulemay convert an electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus which may be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinesthetic sensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic modulemay include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electric stimulator.

The camera modulemay capture a still image or moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera modulemay include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

The power management modulemay manage power supplied to the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the power management modulemay be implemented as at least part of, for example, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

The batterymay supply power to at least one component of the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the batterymay include, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, a secondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell.

The communication modulemay support establishing a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic deviceand the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device, the electronic device, or the server) and performing communication via the established communication channel. The communication modulemay include one or more communication processors that are operable independently from the processor(e.g., the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g., wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication modulemay include a wireless communication module(e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module(e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication (PLC) module).

A corresponding one of these communication modules may communicate with the external electronic device via the first network(e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™, wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or the second network(e.g., a long-range communication network, such as a legacy cellular network, a 5G network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or wide area network (WAN)). These various types of communication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multi components (e.g., multi chips) separate from each other. The wireless communication modulemay identify and authenticate the electronic devicein a communication network, such as the first networkor the second network, using subscriber information (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module.

The wireless communication modulemay support a 5G network, after a 4G network, and next-generation communication technology, e.g., new radio (NR) access technology. The NR access technology may support enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), or ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC). The wireless communication modulemay support a high-frequency band (e.g., the mm Wave band) to achieve, e.g., a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication modulemay support various technologies for securing performance on a high-frequency band, such as, e.g., beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (massive MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, or large scale antenna. The wireless communication modulemay support various requirements specified in the electronic device, an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device), or a network system (e.g., the second network). According to an embodiment, the wireless communication modulemay support a peak data rate (e.g., 20 Gbps or more) for implementing cMBB, loss coverage (e.g., 164 dB or less) for implementing mMTC, or U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for each of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or a round trip of Ims or less) for implementing URLLC.

The antenna modulemay transmit or receive a signal or power to or from the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of the electronic device. According to an embodiment, the antenna modulemay include an antenna including a radiating element composed of a conductive material or a conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB)). According to an embodiment, the antenna modulemay include a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas). In such a case, at least one antenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in the communication network, such as the first networkor the second network, may be selected, for example, by the communication module(e.g., the wireless communication module) from the plurality of antennas. The signal or the power may then be transmitted or received between the communication moduleand the external electronic device via the selected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment, another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) other than the radiating element may be additionally formed as part of the antenna module.

According to various embodiments, the antenna modulemay form a mmWave antenna module. According to an embodiment, the mmWave antenna module may include a printed circuit board, an RFIC disposed on a first surface (e.g., the bottom surface) of the printed circuit board, or adjacent to the first surface and capable of supporting a designated high-frequency band (e.g., the mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas) disposed on a second surface (e.g., the top or a side surface) of the printed circuit board, or adjacent to the second surface and capable of transmitting or receiving signals of the designated high-frequency band.

At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutually and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purpose input and output (GPIO), serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)).

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic deviceand the external electronic devicevia the servercoupled with the second network. Each of the electronic devicesormay be a device of a same type as, or a different type, from the electronic device. According to an embodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at the electronic devicemay be executed at one or more of the external electronic devices,, or. For example, if the electronic deviceshould perform a function or a service automatically, or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device, instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the service, may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least part of the function or the service. The one or more external electronic devices receiving the request may perform the at least part of the function or the service requested, or an additional function or an additional service related to the request, and transfer an outcome of the performing to the electronic device. The electronic devicemay provide the outcome, with or without further processing of the outcome, as at least part of a reply to the request. To that end, a cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used, for example.

The electronic devicemay provide ultra low-latency services using, e.g., distributed computing or mobile edge computing. In another embodiment, the external electronic devicemay include an internet-of-things (IoT) device. The servermay be an intelligent server using machine learning and/or a neural network. According to an embodiment, the external electronic deviceor the servermay be included in the second network. The electronic devicemay be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart home, smart city, smart car, or healthcare) based on 5G communication technology or IoT-related technology.

illustrates an unfolding state of an exemplary electronic device.illustrates a folding state of an exemplary electronic device.is an exploded view of an exemplary electronic device.

Referring to, according to an embodiment, an electronic devicemay include a first housing, a second housing, and a display.

According to an embodiment, the first housingmay include a first surface, a second surfacefaced away from the first surface, and a first lateral surfacecovering at least a portion of the first surfaceand the second surface. In an embodiment, the first housingmay further include at least one cameraand a displayexposed through a portion of the second surface. In an embodiment, the first housingmay provide a space formed by the first surface, the second surface, and the first lateral surfaceas a space to dispose components of the electronic device. In an embodiment, the first lateral surfaceand a second lateral surfacemay include a conductive material, a non-conductive material, or a combination thereof. For example, the first lateral surfaceand the second lateral surfacemay include a conductive portionand a non-conductive portion. The conductive portionmay include a plurality of conductive members and the plurality of conductive members may be spaced apart from each other. The non-conductive portionmay be disposed between the plurality of conductive members. An antenna structure may be formed by a portion of the plurality of conductive members and a plurality of non-conductive members, or a combination thereof.

In an embodiment, the second housingmay include a third surface, a fourth surfacefaced away from the third surface, and the second lateral surfacecovering at least a portion of the third surfaceand the fourth surface. In an embodiment, the second surfacemay further include a first rear platedisposed on the second surface. In an embodiment, the fourth surfacemay further include a second rear platedisposed on the fourth surface.

In an embodiment, a hinge structuredisposed on a hinge covermay be disposed between the first lateral surfaceand the second lateral surface. The second lateral surfacemay be rotatably (or pivotably) connected to the hinge structurewith respect to the first lateral surface. The hinge structuremay include a hinge plate. For example, the hinge plate may include a first hinge plate, and a second hinge plate. The first hinge plate may be connected to the first housing, and the second hinge plate may be connected to the second housing. In an embodiment, the second housingmay provide a space formed by the third surface, and the fourth surfacefaced away from the third surface, and the second lateral surfacecovering at least a portion of the third surfaceand the fourth surfaceas a space to dispose components of the electronic device. In an embodiment, the displaymay include a window exposed toward an outside. The window may protect a surface of the displayand transmit visual information provided from the displayto the outside by being formed of a transparent member. For example, the window may include a glass material such as an ultra-thin glass (UTG) or a polymer material such as a polyimide (PI). In an embodiment, the displaymay include a first display areadisposed on the first surfaceof the first housing, a second display areadisposed on the third surfaceof the second housing, and a third display areabetween the first display areaand the second display area. At least a portion of the third display areamay be disposed on the hinge structure.

According to an embodiment, an opening may be formed in a portion of a screen display area of the display, or a recess or an opening may be formed in a support member (e.g., a bracket) supporting the display. The electronic devicemay include at least one or more camera aligned with the recess or the opening. For example, the first display areamay further include at least one or more cameracapable of obtaining an image from the outside through the portion of the first display area. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay include the at least one or more cameraon a rear surface of the displaycorresponding to the first display areaor the second display areaof the display. For example, the at least one or more cameramay be disposed under the display. For example, the at least one or more cameramay be covered by the display. The at least one or more cameramay not be exposed to the outside by being covered by the display. However, it is not limited thereto, and the displaymay include an opening exposing the at least one or more camerato the outside. Although not illustrated in, according to an embodiment, the displaymay further include a front surface that the displayfaces and a rear surface opposite to the front surface. In an embodiment, the displaymay be supported by a first support memberof the first housingand a second support memberof the second housing.

In an embodiment, the hinge structuremay be configured to rotatably connect the first support memberthat is fastened to the first hinge plate and the second support memberthat is fastened to the second hinge plate. In an embodiment, the hinge covercovering the hinge structuremay be at least partially exposed through a space between the first housingand the second housingwhile the electronic deviceis in a folding state. In an embodiment, the hinge covermay be covered by the first housingand the second housingwhile the electronic deviceis in an unfolding state.

According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay be folded with respect to a folding axis (f) passing through the hinge cover. For example, the hinge covermay be disposed between the first housingand the second housingof the electronic deviceso that the electronic devicemay be bent, curved, or folded. For example, the first housingand/or the second housing, based on the hinge structure, may rotate with respect to the folding axis (f).

In an embodiment, the electronic devicemay be folded so that the first housingand the second housingmay face each other by rotating with respect to the folding axis (f). In an embodiment, the electronic devicemay be folded so that the first housingand the second housingare stacked or overlapped with each other.

Referring to, the electronic devicemay include the first housing, the second housing, the hinge structure, the display, a printed circuit board, the display, the first rear plate, and/or the second rear plate. According to an embodiment, the electronic devicemay omit at least one of the components or may additionally include another component.

According to an embodiment, the hinge structuremay include the hinge plate. For example, the hinge structuremay include a hinge gear (not illustrated) causing that the first housingand the second housingto be pivotable.

According to an embodiment, the first support membermay be partially covered by the first lateral surface. For example, the first support membermay be integrally formed with the first lateral surface. According to an embodiment, the second support membermay be partially covered by the second lateral surface. For example, the second support membermay be integrally formed with the second lateral surface. However, it is not limited to thereto. For example, the first support membermay be formed separately from the first lateral surface. For example, the second support membermay be formed separately from the second lateral surface.

According to an embodiment, a surface of the first support membermay be coupled to the display, and another surface of the first support membermay be coupled to the first rear plate. A surface of the second support membermay be coupled to the display, and another surface of the second support membermay be coupled to the second rear plate.

According to an embodiment, the printed circuit boardand a battery may be disposed between a surface formed by the first support memberand the second support memberand a surface formed by the displayand the rear plate. The first printed circuit boardmay be electrically connected to the components to implement various functions of the electronic device.